Matter of the Heart
by RizuMcButt
Summary: A definent AU. Or maybe UU? Unrelated Universe. Anywho, it's about Mai's Harpy Ladies, get this-- with lives of their own! Rated PG for a bit of bloodshed. Might go to PG13 later on.


Matter of the Heart  
  
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Skip onto the story if you don't want to read this little section, it's a bit pointless.   
  
I have always loved Mai's Harpy Ladies. They are so cool! Then I started thinking about their attitudes. How would they act? You know, if they were real and not little pieces of paper on a TV show. So I decided to write about them. I gave them names, Harpy Lady being Cyclone, and her (what do you call them? Sisters?) whatevers being Scorch and Razor. Do you think the names fit them?   
But, anyway, I then had to come up with WHAT to write about them. One night, as my mom was screaming at me to go to bed, I turned on Inuyasha. This was the first time I had ever watched it, and so I had no idea who was who. I only saw Inuyasha being shot by Kikyo. The TV was on mute, and I assumed, by the looks on their faces, that Inuyasha had considered Kikyo a friend. Ya know, he looked so shocked when he was shot.   
That night I couldn't stop thinking about that idea, and in the morning I came up with the idea with this story. In a few chapters you may see how I was thinking of Inuyasha. And if you don't, then I just I did a good job burrying it in all of my own ideas.   
There, done talking now. If you read all of that, I congradulate you!   
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the "Inuyasha Idea", as I call it, OR the Harpy Ladies. So don't sue me. Please?  
  
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In the dark bowels of Avisi Wood, shadows lurked among the trees and mysterious rustlings disturbed the bushes. Sinkholes and swamps dotted the forest floor, and the bones of dead animals and humans could be found scattered in abundance throughout the trees.   
  
Not many dare to travel into this haunted place, and of those who do, only a few make it out again. Those numbers are further dwindled by the fact that absolutely nobody goes in without knowing what they want, and that is always the same thing.   
  
It is said that among the leafy branches that so effectively block out the sunlight, a trio of cold-blooded killers lurk in the shadows. These are known as the Harpies Three. They are led by Cyclone, the fearless crimson sister. Razor, the cold blue sister, and Scorch, the fiery orange harpy follow her wherever she goes.  
  
They will lend their many battle skills to whoever gets to them first with the highest payment. They are mercenaries of the deadliest kind. They can swoop from the skies on feathered wings of death to gouge out an enemies eyes with wicked talons, entice an entire battalion into a trap with stunning looks, cripple a man with a single spoken word of magic, or simply lob off all of their limbs with their exceptional talent with swords.   
  
To employ these merciless warriors, one must reach them first; and only the strongest ever do. They must travel through the forest, brave the hidden dangers, and summon the Harpies Three. These three tasks are no easy feat.   
  
But this is not the story of those who have lost their lives simply to recruit the Harpies, nor even about those who succeeded. This tale is about the Harpies themselves.   
  
  
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Hoshe cursed as he beat his way through the thick undergrowth of the Avisi Wood. This had better be worth the trip out here, the thought bitterly to himself. But then, he needed warriors and he needed them fast.   
  
An old man warming himself by the hearth of a tavern had told him to travel to this wretched forest where he would find the perfect mercenaries, but he neglected to mention the difficulties he would have in getting to them. Already he had lost seven men to the perils of this wood. If he didn't know any better, he would swear the forest was *trying* to kill him off.   
  
He sighed and hacked through another netting of vines hung across the trail.   
  
"Ryogai!" he yelled, "Up here, now!"  
  
A man hurried past the line of soldiers to obey his captain's command. He saluted crisply, "Yes sir?"  
  
"Consult the map again. Are you sure we're going in the right direction?"  
  
"Y-yes sir! I'm certain."   
  
Hoshe couldn't help but grimace. He hated the man; his nervous fidgeting and annoying speech never failed to put him on edge. He only tolerated him because he was an excellent navigator. And a navigator was definitely what he needed right now.   
  
Hoshe growled, "I *said* consult the map."  
  
"Of c-course sir." Ryogai pulled out a parchment from a pocket in his pack and examined it with his nose a scant inch from the paper. Hoshe hoped his eyes would one day over-strain and just pop out of his head. The watery blue orbs already looked as if they were halfway there.   
  
He carefully tucked the map back into the pouch and looked back up at Hoshe. The captain didn't bother meet his annoying gaze.   
  
"Speak man!" he snapped when Ryogai failed to talk immediately, "Are we on the right course?"  
"Yes si-sir, we are."   
  
He imagined he could hear a hint of smugness in his reedy voice. In fact, he probably put that annoying stutter into his voice because he knew it bothered him.   
  
"Then how much longer?"  
  
"If I'm not mistaken, sir, we should be there within a matter of minutes."  
  
Hoshe fingered the strap of his crossbow. Oh how he would like to put a bolt into that man. Everything about him annoyed him. His matter-of-fact tone, his precise manner of speech, his lack of talent for fighting. The only thing he *was* good at was navigating. He dropped his hand to his side again with another sigh; if he killed him it would only get him lost.   
  
"Fine, now go back to the end of the line."  
  
Ryogai fired off another salute (though Hoshe could care less if he had slapped him and walked away, as long as he was out of his sight) and strode briskly to his place in the line.   
  
As soon as the man was gone, Hoshe spotted a clearing in the trees up ahead. It was suspiciously neat and clear of plant life. He turned to one of the men behind him.   
  
"You," he said, unable to recall the man's name, "Go ahead, into that clearing."  
  
The soldier looked at him nervously. The last few men he had asked to go ahead had not come back.  
"Go! Or should I report you for insubordination?"   
  
"No sir, I'm going!" the man hurried into the clearing. He stopped in the middle and looked back at Hoshe. He opened his mouth to speak, but in that moment the ground came alive.  
  
It became suddenly like liquid, swallowing the man. He rapidly sank into the previously solid ground until only his head and shoulders remained. These too were quickly vanishing.   
  
His eyes widened with fear, locked with Hoshe's in a silent plea. Hoshe did nothing, he could not save the man, and so he would not try.   
  
Again the man's mouth opened, but before he could scream, he was gone and the ground looked solid again.   
  
It was, apparently, quicksand.   
  
He turned back to the group who were staring at the clearing with round eyes. He pointed at the spot the unlucky man had disappeared at. "Avoid that," was all he said.   
  
Without another word he turned back and carefully skirted the open space, the soldiers imitated him motions, and no more were lost to the pit.   
  
In a few more minutes of tiring, plant-hacking, forest trekking, Hoshe began to wonder of Ryogai had been telling the truth. Were they going to find the Harpies today, or would they have to spent another night in the forest? Last time three of his men vanished during the night. He wasn't eager to do it again.   
  
Suddenly a rustling above his head stopped him. What was it? Another beast come to feed on the humans? He hoped it wasn't like the last one, a ravenously hungry sort of mix between a lion, a bat, and a horse.   
  
A feminine voice called down from the trees, "State your name and your business in my forest," it said.   
  
Hoshe grinned. That voice could only belong to one sort of creature; he had found the Harpies!  
"I am Captain Hoshe!" he called up to the invisible speaker, "I have come to ask for the aid of the Harpies, who, as I was told, dwell the Avisi Wood."  
  
"Well, Captain Hoshe," came another voice, another Harpy, "You were told right. This is the home of the Harpies Three, as I believe we are now called."  
  
With that, three beings fluttered from the trees to stand in frond of him. They each looked like normal human women from the head down, albeit with piercing hawk eyes. Their slender bodies were covered in soft feathers, from the graceful wings to the long legs.   
  
The middle Harpy had long crimson hair and purple wing feathers. He could tell simply by her dominant stature that she was Cyclone, the leader. Her sisters stood to either side of her, one with green wings and bright orange hair: Scorch, and one with spiky blue hair and darker purple wings: Razor.   
  
He smiled and bowed deeply, "Thank you, my ladies. I am deeply honored to meet-"  
  
Cyclone snorted. "Sure, sure. We've heard it before. How much money do you have?"  
  
He was a bit taken aback by the abruptness of her question, but he recovered smoothly. "Ryogai!" he called, unfortunately, the annoying mouse of a man carried the gold, "Come here!"   
  
Ryogai hurried to stand by the captain. For once he forgot to salute, or even respond with a quick 'Y-yes sir'. Hoshe was glad.   
  
"Ryogai, show the ladies their money," he said.  
  
Ryogai tore his gaze away from the Harpies long enough to dig through his pack and produce a large bulging sack. He handed it quickly to Hoshe as if glad to be rid of the burden.   
  
The captain carefully undid the sash around the mouth of the bag. He set it on the ground and dipped a hand inside. The Harpies watched with interest.   
  
When his hand emerged again, it held coins of all sorts. There were huge golden coins, smaller silver ones, a few of the less-valuable coppers, but mostly crystals. He had heard that the bird-women liked crystals, and by the looks on their faces he guessed he had heard correctly.   
  
Cyclone smiled, "Very nice, Hoshe..."  
  
"Wait!" her orange sister interrupted her, stepping forward to glare at the men, oblivious to the dark look her red sister gave her. "Is that all you brought? Surely, if you want us to fight for you, you would have brought us much more than a few measly coins and crystals. Do you know how many of those we have?"  
  
Hoshe smiled inwardly. He had been prepared for that. "As a matter of fact," he said, reaching into his coat, "I knew that beauties such as yourselves could never be satisfied with mere money. And so, I brought this as a special present!"  
  
He revealed the gift with a flourish of his hand. It was jewelry; bracelets, crowns, rings, earrings, combs, all sorts of things he knew women loved. And of course, all were of the finest quality. All were pure gold, shining gemstones or priceless pearls.   
  
The trio of sisters stared at them hungrily. Scorch nodded happily.   
"That is more along the lines of what I was looking for," she purred.   
  
Beside him, Ryogai fidgeted in his annoying way. He turned to the captain.  
  
"But sir," he complained, if possible, his voice had suddenly become *more* annoying, "Those were to be for me! My payment!"  
  
Hoshe was about to reprimand him, but before he could, Cyclone spoke again.   
  
"Who is that man?" she demanded.  
  
"This," the scorn was thick in Hoshe's voice, "Is Ryogai, my navigator."   
  
Cyclone peered at Ryogai, much in the same way a venomous serpent watches a bug. "Is he useful to you?"  
  
Hoshe blinked at the question, but answered nonetheless, "Well, I was planning on using him to get out of this forest, and he led us to your roost."  
  
Before he stopped speaking, Cyclone had lashed out with her talons, almost faster than the eye could follow, and ranked a deep gash through Ryogai's face, ending halfway down his chest.   
  
The navigator screamed and fell to his knees, gripping his face with his hands. Bright blood welled between the fingers and fell to the ground like scarlet rain.   
  
Hoshe was stunned. He had heard of the Harpy's distinct lack of compassion for all humans, but killing someone without a cause? Not that he grieved for Ryogai, but he was curious as to why Cyclone would do that.   
  
The red Harpy stepped back, licked the blood from her claws, and nodded to her blue sister.   
  
Razor grinned maliciously and stepped up to the man who lay writhing on the ground. She reached down, exposed his neck, and slashed it to ribbons as calmly as if she were gutting a fish.   
She held up her stained talon and licked it, seeming to savor the taste of the blood just as Cyclone had. She smiled sweetly at Hoshe, then stepped back again to join her sisters.   
  
Hoshe recovered his voice, "Why did you do that?"  
  
"Your contempt for that weakling was obvious," Razor explained.   
  
"And a navigator is useless when you have us." Scorch added.  
  
"We were simply lightening your load, so to speak," Cyclone smiled, "And he annoyed me."  
  
He shook his head. What was he getting into, hiring these monsters? But he needed them.  
"So, you have our money, do we have your loyalty?"   
  
Cyclone glanced back at her comrades. They seemed to converse with their eyes alone. In a few seconds she turned back, and all three nodded.   
  
"Don't you want to know who you are to be we fighting?"  
  
Razor shrugged. "If you tell us, we will listen, but we don't *have* to know."  
  
"One human is the same as another in death," said Scorch.   
  
"It matters not who you ask us to kill. And now, we will leave you. When you are out of the forest we will rejoin you. But until then, farewell."  
  
At that, all three launched from the ground in a flurry of feathers. They disappeared through holes in the canopy, and before Hoshe could ask *how* to get out of the forest, they were gone.   
  
He sighed and turned back the way he had come, making sure to step over Ryogai's rigid body. They had taken his navigator and expected him to meet them at the end of the woods. Well, he supposed that was the logic of Harpies.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
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There ya are! R&R, if you'd be so kind. Need at least 5 to continue! Of course, considering my normal amount, I probably won't be that lucky and I'll end up continuing it even if I only get 1. 


End file.
